Ashley St Clair, the mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, has initiated legal proceedings against Musk’s artificial intelligence firm, xAI. In simplicity, a lawsuit against NY Governor Hochul has been filed in New York. It alleges that xAI’s Grok AI tool produced sexually explicit deepfake images of her using the social media platform X. This abrupt shift creates new and alarming issues with respect to consent and the potential impacts of AI technologies on the creation of harmful content.
St Clair revealed her relationship with Musk and the birth of their child in a post on X last year. The married couple is still fighting a child custody battle over their young, multidimensional brilliant cutie-patooty child. This legal dispute has made their situation even more dire. Musk, who is thought to be the biological father of at least 13 children, has so far refused to comment on the lawsuit. He has not publicly responded to the allegations raised by St. Clair.
According to St. Clair’s federal legal complaint, Grok AI took her likeness and inserted it into pornographic material. She contends that this was administered without her informed consent. She explained the altered photos produced as showing her “pretty much nude, bent over”—emphasizing just how serious a breach this was. St. Clair’s legal counsel, Carrie Goldberg, said she was committed to seeing xAI held responsible for the dangerous exploitation of AI technology.
“We intend to hold Grok accountable and to help establish clear legal boundaries for the entire public’s benefit to prevent AI from being weaponised for abuse,” – Carrie Goldberg.
Goldberg was particularly scathing of xAI’s defense against the lawsuit. He contended that their legal strategy is a mismatch for the online treatment that St Clair has suffered. The ongoing lawsuit reveals a much bigger issue. It serves as a reminder of the importance of holding the companies that develop AI tools accountable for producing non-consensual explicit images.
xAI contends that her lawsuit, filed in New York, goes against their terms of service. Those terms require any disputes to be litigated in Texas. In counter-suit, xAI says this gives St Clair the right to terminate the contract since St Clair’s actions violate these terms. In response to Ceglia’s assertion, St Clair’s legal counsel has rebutted that claim, stating that regardless of the jurisdiction any court will agree that her claims have merit.
“I have never heard of any defendant suing somebody for notifying them of their intention to use the legal system,” – Carrie Goldberg.
The alleged misappropriation of Kirtchner’s likeness using deepfake technology cannot be viewed in a vacuum. The UK government is now taking steps to introduce a new criminal law prohibiting the creation of non-consensual intimate images. In parallel, the UK regulator Ofcom has launched an inquiry into whether X is breaking any current laws on this front.
Goldberg focused on the broader public interest in stopping harmful AI technologies such as Grok from proliferating. She described xAI’s behavior as producing a public nuisance through an unreasonably dangerous product.
“By manufacturing nonconsensual sexually explicit images of girls and women, xAI is a public nuisance and a not reasonably safe product,” – Carrie Goldberg.
This high-profile case has the potential to set significant precedents for AI companies. At the same time, it further protects the digital safety of individuals from abuse. Technology is shifting at an incredible pace. As it does, we require concrete legal infrastructures to address the ethical complexities created by AI-fabricated content.